"You Can't Win Them All, but You Can Try"

Have you ever heard of Babe Didrikson?  I learned about her on Facebook.  I follow a page called “A Mighty Girl” that is dedicated to empowering women and girls.  I look forward to their posts every day and frequently follow their links to articles and books about women who made history or (as in many cases) made important contributions that often went overlooked.

Babe (given name Mildred) was born in 1911 and by the time she was a teenager, she knew she wanted to be (in her own words) “the greatest athlete who ever lived.”  She participated in every sport that she could.  Of course, she had her detractors who said she’d be much better off looking pretty and trying to catch a husband.  Eventually she was noticed and appreciated.  The sportswriter Grantland Rice wrote of her:  "She is beyond all belief until you see her perform. Then you finally understand that you are looking at the most flawless section of muscle harmony, of complete mental and physical coordination, the world of sport has ever seen."

Babe competed in the 1932 Olympics in three sports.  Even though she qualified for five events, women were not permitted to do more than three.  She won two golds and a silver.  The judging that led to her second place finish (in the high jump) is still questioned today.

After the Olympics, Babe turned to the sport of golf.  Due to her dominance on the women’s circuit, she was honored by the Associated Press, being named their Female Athlete of the Year three years in a row (1945-1947).

Babe may have been extraordinarily talented, but according to her, "The formula for success is simple: practice and concentration then more practice and more concentration."

I think that concentration during practice time is the key to perfecting any skill.  Once we reach adulthood with all its responsibilities, free time for our interests and hobbies is a luxury.  We often feel like we don’t have enough of it.  Therefore, concentration becomes doubly important.

When I look back at my piano practice time during childhood, I played mindlessly for a lot of it.  (My mother called it “concertizing.”)  I suppose there were two reasons.  One - I didn’t really want to practice, and two - it seemed like I had all the time in the world.  

When I returned to competitive piano as a 46-year-old woman, I realized time was a precious commodity, due to working full-time and caring for my family.  However, when I practice now, I accomplish so much more than I ever did in my youth.  Back then, I didn’t understand the importance of setting goals and concentrating on the process to reach them.  I’m proud of the successes I’ve had in competition, but I think I’m most proud of learning so many new pieces in the amount of time I’ve had.  I wish I had had such self-discipline during my youth!

Lately, I have been waffling a little bit on whether I want to continue competing, which involves perfecting pieces to the degree that I feel I have a chance to win a competition.  It takes considerably more time than just learning the notes and playing it decently.  At age 51, I feel like I wasted a lot of time in my youth and the 25 years I didn’t play at all, and I want to learn to play as many beautiful pieces as I can, even if they’re not perfect.  Plus, there’s not the stress of competition.

Then I look back to Babe Didrikson.  When she was 42, she was diagnosed with cancer.  During the surgery, doctors discovered it was inoperable.  Only fourteen weeks later, she was back competing and won her third U.S. Open by twelve strokes.  Here was a woman with truly limited time, and this is how she chose to make the most of it.

Maybe I need to let my competitive spirit loose again and as the Special Olympics quote goes, “Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.”